She was born in Winsted on Feb. 11, 1918, to the late Helen Gaylord and Ralph V. Tiffany. She was predeceased by her husband of 30 years, L. Franklin Leighton, Jr., of Melrose, Mass., and her sister, Grace Wilson of Keene, N.H. She is survived by her sister, Elizabeth Thompson of Colebrook, Conn. She is survived by her three children, Jeffrey and his wife, Edith, of New Hartford, Conn., Cynthia Daniels and her husband, Charles, of Castro Valley, Calif., and Roger and his wife, Susan, of Hilton, N.Y. She is also survived by six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, Clifford and his wife, Laura, and their two children, Mitchell and Alison, of Canton, Ga., Kimberley Pineda and her husband, Tito, and their daughter, Kaya, of Oakley, Calif., Benjamin Daniels of Alameda, Calif., Tiffany Ozmina and her husband, Martin, of Chicago, Ill., Andrew and his wife, Julie, and their two children, Ava and Emma, of Rochester, N.Y., and Aaron of Rochester, N.Y.

She graduated with a BS in chemistry from Middlebury College in 1940 and went to work for Lever Brothers in Cambridge, Mass. After marrying Frank in 1946, she returned to her hometown of Winsted, where she later worked for the Keratene Company. In 1960, she rekindled her love of the cello and joined the Torrington Civic Symphony soon after. She was its historian for many years and faithfully kept scrapbooks of concerts and articles from the local newspapers. She often wrote the program notes for the concerts. She was actively involved in the Beardsley and Memorial Library for 27 years, serving as secretary, vice-president and then as president of the board of trustees from 1986 to 2003. In 2000, the Association of Connecticut Library Boards awarded her a Certificate of Appreciation for her many contributions to the improvements and expansion of the library.

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